Apparatus for use in the manufacture of shoes



March 1955 A. E. ST. GERMAIN 2,704,349

APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHOES Filed Jan. 15, 1951 2Sheets-Sheet l [raverzfiar erze 525. Germ J WYW [@J ZZZ March 1955 A. E.ST. GERMAIN 2,704,849

APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHOES Filed Jan. 13, 1951 2Sheets-Sheet 2 [rzuemtor 8226 6% Ger/mm aligns United States PatentAPPARATUS FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHOES Agenor Eugene St. Germain,Haverhill, Mass.

Application January 13, 1951, Serial No. 205,868

6 Claims. (Cl. 12-1) This invention relates to apparatus for use in themanufacture of shoes, and especially to the manufacture of force lastedshoes of the California type.

In the manufacture of the California type shoe, which is characterizedby a platform sole and/or wedge heel. covered with a wrapper strip, theupper, including the forepart and quarters, a sock lining which mayconstitute the insole, and a wrapper strip are stitched along a commonmargin with the wrapper folded upwardly against the surface of theupper. A tuck is placed on the sock lining at the heel end thereof andcemented thereto to add stiffness to the shoe bottom at its heel end andwhen a wedge heel is used the tuck piece breaks the joint between thewood portion of the heel and the forward portion of the wedge, thusinsuring a smooth surface for the foot to rest upon. After the tuckpiece is applied, it is allowed to set until dry, whereupon the wrapperis turned so as to stand substantially vertical to the surface of thesock lining in readiness for placing the platform and/or heel on thesock lining and lasting the wrapper over the bottom thereof. Theexternal surface of the heel wedge slopes inwardly toward its bottom andso in order to secure a snug fit, the wrap per is cut with less materialalong its free edge than at its attached edge. The shortened upperportion of the wrapper snugly embraces the rear part of the upper,particularly over the counter bulge, the upper mar gin actuallyextending beyond the bulge and being shorter in length than the girth ofthe bulge, hence it is extremely difiicult to pull the snugly fittingwrapper strip downwardly over the bulge. In addition to the snugness ofthe Wrapper, the folding of the material upon itself takes up any slackthat might be afforded by the elasticity of the material itself and soaggravates the condition, making it nearly impossible to turn thewrapper without overstressing it and breaking the stitching joining itto the lower edge of the upper. Ditficulty is also experienced at thetip of the shoe, although not nearly so great. Because of the foregoingdifficulties in turning, operators were prone to break the assembly atabout the location of the breast of the heel to provide slack in thewrapper to make it easier to turn. This breaking of the assembly wasusually so severe as to break the tuck piece transversely and make itineffective for its intended purpose of stiffening the shoe.

The principal objects of this invention are to provide an apparatus foruse in operating on an upper assembly of the foregoing kind to permitturning the wrapper easily Without destroying the effectiveness of thetuck piece and without damaging the wrapper material or pulling it awayfrom its junction with the upper. Further objects are to provide anapparatus which is of simple, durable construction and which will verymuch simplify assembling the tuck piece with the upper assembly andturning the wrapper without need for lasting pinchers or othermechanical lasting apparatus.

In the operation of the apparatus, an assembly of the upper includingthe forepart and quarters joined in circular fashion, a sock lining anda wrapper strip united along common margins by stitching with the upperfolded upwardly against the wrapper, is gripped firmly throughout asubstantial portion of the heel end of the sock lining close to thestitched margin thereof, and then the forepart of the upper is benttransversely along a smooth curve, beginning at the breast line of theheel end of the shank and extending forwardly thereof to at least theball line so as to shorten the overall length of the assembly.Shortening the overall length of the assembly relieves the stress in thewrapper, providing an excess thereof, so that the wrapper may then begripped and pulled outwardly and downwardly or upwardly over the counterbulge as the case may be, so as to stand up substantially vertical tothe plane of the sock lining. Preferably adhesive is applied to the heelend portion of the sock lining and a tuck piece which extends forwardlyat least throughout the shank is laid on the sock lining prior togripping, bending and turning of the wrapper, so that during the timerequired to bend the assembly and turn the wrapper, the adhesive willhave had time to set and thus unite the tuck thereto.

The apparatus as herein illustrated, has spaced, relatively movablemembers arranged initially to be brought into engagement with theopposite surfaces of the sock lining to hold it firmly, and then to bendthe forepart of the upper transversely and throughout the shank portionto foreshorten the assembly. One of the members which constitutes ahold-down, has a narrow, 1ongitudinally convex surface of approximatelythe contour of the sock lining and the other, which constitutes a jack,has an initially flat surface of substantially the same shape which,when brought into engagement with and pressed against the one member,may be made to conform to the convex surface thereof, thereby bendingthe assembly into contact with the convex surface of the one member. Thejack consists of a plurality of articulated parts mounted for'movementto and from the hold-down, which is fixed, and there is linkage forinitially moving the jack toward the hold-down to bring their heel endportions together and thereafter to roll the remainder of the jack intocontact with the convex portion of the hold-down.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine showing the operating partsspaced in their at-rest positions;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the device as seen from the left-hand sideof Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation showing an upper assembly mounted onthe device in readiness to be operated upon;

Fig. 6 is a corresponding elevation showing the initial step inoperating upon the upper;

Fig. 7 is an elevation partly in section showing the ultimate positionof the parts in operating on the assembly prior to turning the wrapper;

Fig. 8 shows the upper held between the operating parts with the wrapperpartially turned at the heel end; and

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the apparatus taken on the line 99 of Fig. 6

Referring to the drawings (Fig. 1), the device has a base 10 of suitablerigidity and height to support the operating parts in a convenientposition for an operator standing in front of the machine, to the top ofwhich is bolted an upright gooseneck comprised of a vertical portion 12,a horizontal overhanging portion 14 and a downwardly and inwardlyinclined bill 16. A norrow, rigid, bent plate 18 having a substantiallyhorizontal rear part 20 and an inclined forward part 22 is fastened byscrews 24 to the forward and lower surfaces of the bill and constitutesa fixed hold-down for holding the shoe as will appear hereinafter,during the turning operation. The bent plate corresponds substantiallyin plan to the shape of a sock lining or insole. A facing member 26 ofsomewhat resilient material, for example, cork or hard rubber, ispreferably attached to the surface of the plate 18 so as to avoid damageto the shoe parts.

The vertical portion 12 of the gooseneck has a base flange 28 whichextends forwardly from the base 10 and has integral therewith avertically arranged flange plate 30. A substantially rectangular,elongate frame 32 is bolted in an upright position to the face of theflange 30 by means of bolts 34 and has in it a vertical narrow slot oropening 36. Vertically aligned holes 38 are formed in the upper andlower ends of the frame 32 and through these holes there is placed a rod40. A C-shaped frame 42 having spaced parallel arms 44 pierced toreceive the rod 40 is slidably mounted within the slot 36 on the rod 49and has attached to its forward face a bar 46, by means of screws 48. Asthus arranged, the bar 46 is substantially parallel to the rod 40, andmay be moved relatively thereto. A compression spring 50 is mounted onthe rod 40 between the lower arm 44 of the frame 42 and a collar 52fixed to the rod. In its uncompressed condition, the spring hold; theframe 42 against the lower end of the frame 32 so that the upper ends ofthe bar 46 and the rod 40 are at approximately the same level.

A jack is mounted on the upper end of the rod 40 and bar 46 for movementto and from the fixed holddown. As illustrated, the jack has a normallyflat supporting surface on which the upper assembly may be placed but isdeformable and consists of three sections 56, 58 and 62 hinged together.The section 56 is pivotally connected to a subjacent block 54 fast tothe upper end of the rod 40. The section 62 is pivotally connected tothe upper end of the bar 46. The section 58 is pivotally connected atits opposite ends to the sections 56 and 62. As constructed, the block58 has at opposite ends spaced ears which embrace the forward and rearends of the blocks 56 and 62, through which hinged pins 60 and 64 passso that the sections or blocks 56, 58 and 62 are free to be movedangularly relative to each other, that is the blocks 56, 58 and 60provide an articulated body which normally has a fiat upper surfaceconforming in contour substantially to a projection of the hold-downplate 26 on a flat surface, but which may be bent to take the convexshape of the holddown plate 26 when moved into engagement therewith.

To effect upward movement of the jack and conformation thereof to thecurved surface of the hold-down, a link 66 having bifurcated ends ispivotally attached by a pin 68 to the upper arm 44 of the bracket 42 andto the forward end of a lever 70 fulcrumed at 74 in a slot 72 at thebase of the gooseneck. The rear end of the lever 70 is connected to theupper end of a treadle rod 76, the lower end of which terminates at thebase of the machine and has fast thereto a suitable treadle fordepressing it and a return spring for elevating it.

In operation of the device, an upper assembly a consisting of a forepartf and quarters q stitched in circular fashion, a sock lining s and awrapper strip w joined along common margins by stitching t as shown inFig. 5 is placed bottom up on the jack with the heel end thereof engagedwith the rear end of the jack. As illustrated, the wrapper is foldedupwardly against the upper material and it is noted that the free edgethereof, being somewhat shorter than the stitched edge, hugs both thecurvature of the counter at the heel end and the tip portion of the toe.It is to be understood that the assembled upper may and usually willhave a counter and counter lining stitched in place at the heel.Adhesive is then applied to the rear end of the sock lining and a heeltuck piece is laid down on the cement coated surface and properlypositioned by the operator. The treadle is then operated to draw thetreadle rod 76 down and hence to elevate the C-frame 42, which in turnraises both the rod 40 and the bar 46 so as to elevate the jack to thelevel shown in Fig. 6, in which position the rear block 56 presses therear end portion of the sock lining resting on it, in to engagement withthe lower rear portion of the hold-down 26. At this stage in theoperation, and before any considerable amount of pressure is applied,the operator may shift the upper forwardly and laterally so that it isin proper registry with the operating parts and may also adjust theposition of the tuck piece so that it fits exactly in place. Uponfurther depression of the treadle, the C-frame 42 continues to riserelative to the rod 40 which is stopped by engagement of the block 56with the rear end of the hold-down, against the spring 50. As the bar 46rises, the block 58 pivots about the pin 60 and the block 62 pivotsabout the pin 64 so that these parts conform and are brought intosurface contact with the upwardly inclined surface of the hold-down 26,thereby flexing or bending the sock lining and upper assembly asillustrated in Fig. 7, and shortening its overall length.

With the upper and tuck piece bent as illustrated, if the latter isused, and firmly clamped between the hold-down and jack, there will beconsiderable slack in the wrapper and this is now grasped and turned bypulling it outwardly and upwardly as shown in Fig. 8 until it issubstantially perpendicular to the plane of the sock lining. This can bedone without straining the wrapper due to the foreshortening of theupper, which when bent, relaxes the wrapper and provides an excess ofmaterial, so that it can be easily turned to insure a good even line,where the wrapper turns outwardly from the lower margin of the upperwithout using lasting pinchers. The treadle is then released and theparts separated, whereupon the upper with the wrapper foldedperpendicular to the sock lining may then be removed for receiving thebottom member which consists of a platform sole and/or wedge heel as thecase may be. The tuck piece will be firmly united to the sock liningduring the gripping and turning operations. It is to be understood thatthe tuck piece may be omitted if the type of shoe warrants it.

It is to be noted that the contour of the hold-down is of such shapethat while it bends the sock lining, tuck piece and upper, the bendingtakes place throughout the shank and is gently curved to conform to thehold-down without permanent damage to the tuck piece or the stitching atthe shank portion of the upper.

While the jack is illustrated as consisting of articulated sections, itis within the scope of the invention to employ any suitable deformablemember which when moved into engagement with the convex surface of thehold-down will conform thereto, for example, a strip of spring steel, ablock link chain, or an inflatable member.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modificationsand equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for operating upon an upper assembly consisting of anupper, a sock lining and a wrapper united along a common margin bystitching with the wrapper folded upwardly against the side of theupper, comprising spaced, relatively movable members arranged to bebrought into engagement with the heel end portion of the sock lining,one of said members having a rigid, narrow surface correspondingsubstantially in length and contour to the shank and heel end of thesock lining, said surface being longitudinally convex, and the otherbeing longitudinally articulate so that when pressed against the convexsurface of the rigid member, it will conform thereto, and means foreffecting relative movement of the members to bend an upper assemblytherebetween to shorten its overall length.

2. Apparatus for operating upon an upper assembly consisting of anupper, a sock lining and a wrapper united along a common margin bystitching with the wrapper folded upwardly against the side of theupper, comprising spaced, relatively movable members arranged to bebrought into engagement with the heel end portion of the sock lining ofthe upper assembly, one of said members having a rigid narrow surfacecorresponding substantially in length and area to the shank and heel endof the sock lining, said surface being longitudinally convex, and theother having longitudinally articulate portions, and means for effectingrelative movement of the members to bring a portion of the articulatemember into engagement with a portion of the rigid member near the heelend thereof, and then progressively to wrap the remainder of thearticulate portions into engagement with the curved surface of the rigidmember.

3. Apparatus for operating upon an upper assembly consisting of anupper, a sock lining and a wrapper united along a common margin bystitching with the wrapper folded upwardly against the side of theupper, comprising spaced, relatively movable members arranged to bebrought into engagement with the heel end portion of the assembly, oneof said members having a rigid narrow surface correspondingsubstantially in length and shape to the shank and heel end of the socklining, the heel end portion of which is substantially parallel to theother member and the remainder of which diverges therefrom, said othermember having an initially fiat surface corresponding substantially inoutline to a projection of the one member on a fiat surface, and beinglongitudinally deformable, means for effecting relative movement of themembers to bring the heel end portions of the members into contactandthereafter progressively to roll the remainder of the deformablemember into engagement with the diverging portion of the rigid member.

4. Apparatus for operating upon an upper assembly consisting of anupper, a sock lining and a wrapper united along a common margin bystitching with the wrapper folded upwardly against the side of theupper, comprising spaced, relatively movable members arranged to bebrought into engagement with the heel end portion of the sock lining ofan upper assembly, one of said members having a rigid narrow surfacecorresponding substantially in length and outline to the shank and heelend of a sock lining, the heel end of which is substantially parallel tothe other member, and the forepart of which diverges therefrom, saidother member having an initially fiat surface correspondingsubstantially in outline to a projection of the one member on a flatsurface and being longitudinally articulate, and means operable toeffect an initial engagement of the members at their heel ends andthereafter progressively to roll the remainder of the articulate memberinto contact with the diverging portion of the rigid member.

5. Apparatus for operating upon an upper assembly consisting of anupper, a sock lining and a wrapper united along a common margin bystitching with the wrapper folded upwardly against the side of theupper, comprising spaced, relatively movable members arranged to bebrought into engagement with the heel end portion of the sock lining ofthe upper assembly, one of said members having a rigid narrow surfacecorresponding substantially in length and outline to the shank and heelend of the sock lining, the heel end of which is substantially parallelwith the other member, and the forepart of which diverges therefrom,said other member having a plurality of articulate parts normally lyingin a common plane, linkage connected to the articulate member to effectan initial movement thereof into engagement with the rigid member tobring the heel end portions together without deformation of thearticulate member, and a further movement of the articulate member tocause the articulate parts forwardly of the heel end to be pressed intoIengagement with the diverging portion of the rigid mem- 6. Apparatusfor use in shoe manufacture comprising a fixed part having a rigidnarrow surface corresponding substantially in length and contour to theshank and heel end of a sock lining, the heel end of which issubstantially horizontal and the forward part of which is inclinedforwardly and upwardly therefrom, a movable part consisting of aplurality of articulate sections normally occupying a common planesituated below the fixed part and parallel to the horizontal portionthereof, said sections having an overall shape correspondingsubstantially to the projection of the fixed part on a flat surface, abracket below the movable part having vertically spaced registeringholes therein, a rod mounted for vertical movement in said holes, theupper end of said rod being pivotally connected to the heel end sectionof the movable part, a bar arranged parallel to the rod and slidablymounted thereon for movement relative thereto, the upper end of said barbeing pivotally connected to a forward section of the movable part, aspring on the rod yieldably holding the upper end of the bar at the samelevel as the upper end of the rod so that the articulate sections are ina common plane, linkage connected to the bar for lifting it and hencethe rod toward the fixed part to engage the heel end section of themovable part with the heel end portion of the fixed part and thereafterto raise the bar relative to the rod to engage the forward section ofthe movable part with the upwardly inclined, forward portion of thefixed part.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 22,529Fitts Jan. 4, 1859 706,038 Eppler, Jr. Aug. 5, 1902 1,011,067 LaChapelle Dec. 5, 1911 1,257,583 Cosgrove et al Feb. 26, 1918 2,393,991Kamborian Feb. 5, 1946 2,394,997 Kamborian Feb. 19, 1946 2,454,441Galper Nov. 23, 1948 2,470,170 Hubbard May 17, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS581,047 Great Britain Sept. 30, 1946

